Ministry of Reconciliation

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”  One of the great missions of the Savior was to reconcile us to the Father by bridging the gap between our sins and the perfection of the Father.  Paul continued, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).  We have all sinned and separated ourselves from the Father, but He wants to bring us back in His presence through the Son.  And even though we are the ones who have estranged ourselves, it is the Father who offers us the reconciliation through His Son.  The Savior’s ministry was indeed one of reconciliation as He restored bodies to their proper order through miracles of healing and as He restored sinners to righteousness.  And to be His disciples we must too develop a “ministry of reconciliation” as we seek to invite others to come unto Him. 

               Nephi and Jacob seemed to have been especially concerned with this ministry of reconciliation.  Nephi wrote, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God” (2 Nephi 25:23).  As he finished his record his testimony was that of the need for reconciliation: “I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ” (2 Nephi 33:9).  Jacob similarly invited us to be reconciled to God: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved” (2 Nephi 10:24).  Later he made the same invitation to us: “Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:11).  Part of Jacob and Nephi’s ministry was to help us be reconciled to God.  Perhaps the idea of reconciliation was a poignant one for Jacob and Nephi because of their great sorrow over the estrangement of Laman and Lemuel.  Despite their righteous attempts, they were not able to keep their family together.  Surely the principle of being reconciled with God was particularly important to them, for they knew the pain of separation. 

            The ministry of reconciliation that is Christ’s and which can be ours is in stark contrast with the mission of Satan to divide us.  The Savior taught the Nephites, “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).  As we labor in our own efforts to bring forth Zion so that we are “of one heart and one mind,” we seek the “laying down of contentions” so that the peace and reconciliation of the Savior can be ours (Moses 7:18, 2 Nephi 3:12).